Join us October Art Walk for an amazing exhibition.

What does it mean to be human? This is one of the questions at the heart of the X-men franchise. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-men comic book debuted in the same year that white nationalists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Medgar Evers was assassinated, and Martin Luther King delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. The conflict at the heart of the X-Men is more than allegorical to [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] in an aggressive, reactionary society. (Cite https://blacknerdproblems.com/the-curious-relationship-of-race-with-x-men-black-mutants/) 

Written by white cis-male authors and featuring predominantly white cis-het characters, with femmes, queers, and BIPOC characters in the background or in service of the lead characters, the comic books and the films fall far short of visual representation, which is inherently harmful. Within this world, the idea of the mutant serves as a metaphor for those who fall out of the dominant culture, or those we consider "the other." However, we are not in need of metaphors. We want actual representation and authentic voices. But what does it mean to forcibly insert oneself into these narratives and claim space and power within the construct of this universe? What does it mean to embody “the mutant?” 

The title of the show is taken from a piece by rapper Czarface called “New Mutantes.” In this piece Czarface declares their readiness and activates their power. He claims his space in the X-Men Universe by performing as the Mutant, hinting at the acceptable ways to be Black, and shunning these politics of representation without fear. Like Czarface, Jonathan Sangster and Ali Seradge are out here, defying the rules, resisting hegemony, and creating and recreating their own ways to be human/mutant.